MANAGING THE LARGEST TEAM EVER 2015 AMA NATIONALS April 3-6 Sydney

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1 O f f i c i a l N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e N S W M a s t e r s A t h l e t i c s A s s o c i a t i o n MANAGING THE LARGEST TEAM EVER 2015 AMA NATIONALS April 3-6 Sydney by Garry Womsley May, 2015 All photos Matthew Whitbread Alan Provenzano Sylvette Wearne Adam Parsonage I ve always found it an honour to manage the NSW team. I had done it 3 times previously and enjoyed the challenge and responsibility of the position. This year was no different. To manage the largest ever team (337 athletes) in the history of Masters Athletics in Australia adds to the honour and something I ll always remember. In fact, having the event at The Crest brought back some good memories. The first ever Nationals I attended was held at The Crest in Competing in the M35 age category back then, I won 6 medals including a Gold in my first ever Steeple race. Back then, the standard of competition in the and age categories was not so strong which probably explains why I got so many medals. However, in the last few years that has changed for the better and these age categories are now much stronger which is great for Masters Athletics. In fact a lot of age categories this year had heats and finals in a number of events. In the lead up to the event, we had challenges with a uniforms shortage but between myself, our Uniforms Officer Belinda Westcott and the generosity of some of our members, we were able to accommodate our athletes adequately. During the event and on the first day in particular, there were issues which needed my intervention and input but after doing the job for so long there s nothing that I can t handle. Unfortunately, it is not possible to please everyone all the time but I always try to get a reasonable resolution for all parties. From day one I always try to establish a good rapport with the Officials and Technical staff and having worked with a lot of them over the years, that was easy. 1

2 Day One: - It was drizzly for most of day one. However, it wasn t a cold day so it was still fairly comfortable for those competing. The first track event of the meet was the 10000m. The 25 lap race is not for the faint hearted but NSW had a lot of good performers today. Jessica Clifton (W30) does both long and short races and looks like she really enjoys it. She took Gold in a time of 49:37. In the W40 category, Belinda Martin, who still goes well in Open company, ran a dominant race to take Gold in a great time of 36: The Silver was taken by the in-form Gillian Sohun (40:50). Angie Carpini (W50) has really improved over the season and took Gold in a personal best time of 41: Dorothy Siepmann (W70) is a legendary figure in distance running. She took Gold in a time of 1:05: In the men s races, Frank Scorzelli took out the M65 category in a time of 41: Witold Krajewski (43:21) made it first and second for NSW. Neil Pearson (M40) was outstanding to win his category in a time of 32: Wayne Bulloch (33:15) and David Tonge (34:41) had a great battle in the M45 category to take out first and second. The 60m heats and finals showed sprinting at its best. In the M30 final, Michael Dunne (7.16sec) took Gold from Westley Lebreux (7.23sec). The in-form Ashley McMahon (M35) won in a time of 7.31sec. Greg Smith (M40) dominated his race to win in a time of 7.26 sec while Chris Brack took out the M45 category in a time of 7.65sec. Darren Hughes (M50) secured his first Gold of the meet with a time of 7.62sec. In the M60 category, NSW took out the first 5 places: - Ken Porter took Gold in 8.24sec followed by Drew Percival (8.37sec), David Smith (8.37sec), Alan Carey (8.72sec) and Antony Morphis (8.78sec). Neville McIntyre proved too strong in the M70 category to win in a time of 8.72sec. Richard Hughes (10.37sec) took out the M80 category. The women s events were equally as exciting. Kylie Wilmott (W30) took out a very close race in a time of 8.37sec. Nicole Robinson won the W35 category in a time of 8.21sec from Amy Smith (8.36sec). Ranell Hobson (W40) took Gold in a time of 8.13sec in a dominating performance from Monique Perry (8.35sec). The W50 category is arguably the strongest age group in women s sprinting. Remarkably, NSW filled the first seven places in the 60m final: - Julie Forster (8.50sec), Gianna Mogentale (8.56sec), Lynda Douglass (8.70sec), Vicki Townsend (8.80sec), Sally Stagles (8.96sec), Sylvette Wearne (9.07sec) and Jenny Schell (9.35sec). Kathleen Cook took Gold in a time of 12.11sec in the W75 category. The 1500m Walk has been introduced to the programme in recent years and gives the walkers an extra opportunity to show their wares. Ian Jessurun has done well in both road and track walking over the years and took out the M45 category in a time of 7: The legendary Jim Seymon won the M75 category in a time 9: Belinda Westcott, on the comeback trail from injury, took Gold in the W30 category in a time of 11: Kay Heinecke (W35) won her category in a time of 10: Suzanne Brown, who won an Open Walks title in recent years, won the W45 category in a time of 9: The 800m events also proved successful for the NSW. Belinda Martin, backing up after the 10000m earlier in the day, won the W40 category in 2:20.18 closely followed by Kriszta Kovacs (2:23). There was a very close race in the W45 category. Karen Herrmann was outstanding in winning in a time of 2: Lisa Harrison placed third in 2:37.87 to show the closeness of the placings. Deborah Drennan took Gold in the W55 category in a time of 2: Paula Moorhouse dominated the W65 race to win in a time of 3: Brett Halls, who still contends Open events, won Gold in the M35 category in a time of 2: The versatile Simon White placed second in a time of 2: Trevor Young took out the very strong M55 category in a time of 2:16.01 followed by Brendan Dwyer (2:22). Don Mathewson (M70) was again Deborah Drennan outstanding to win in a time of 2: Bob Warmoll, who placed third, achieved a personal best (2:59). The 100m finals were held in increasingly rainy conditions and there were some exciting finishes. Kylie Wilmott (W30) took out her second title of the day in a time of 13.22sec. Nicole Robinson (W35) also took another title in a time of 13.13sec from Amy Smith (13.66sec). Ranell Hobson (W40) also added to her 60m title to win in a time of 13.29sec. Unfortunately, she took no further part in the meet due to injury. The W50 category was again dominated by NSW. They occupied the first six places: - Julie Forster (13.69sec), Gianna Mogentale (13.85sec), Vicki Townsend (14.13sec), Lynda Douglass (14.23sec), Sylvette Wearne (14.81 sec) 2

3 and Sally Stagles (15.05sec). Kathleen Cook (W75) also got her second title of the day with a time of 21.30sec. Michael Dunne (M30) took Gold in a time of 11.30sec. The first four placings were under 12 seconds with Westley Lebreux (11.33sec) third and Greg Eyears (11.96sec) fourth. Ashley McMahon (M35) took the title in a time of 11.42sec. In the M40 category, Ed White (11.36sec) and Greg Smith (11.38sec) had a very close finish with Ed just taking it out. Chris Brack (M45) was again outstanding to win in a time of 12.15sec. Darren Hughes (M50) dominated his race to win in a time of 12.15sec. Ken Porter (M60) took out his race in a time of 13.32sec. Drew Percival placed third in a time of 13.52sec. NSW also occupied fourth, fifth and sixth places. John Lamb won the M65 race in a time of 13.58sec. Neville McIntyre (M70) added to his 60m title with a good win in a time of 13.83sec. Richard Hughes (M80) took out his race in a time of 17.03sec. In the field, NSW also had a lot of success on day 1. Melissa Holahan took Gold in the W30 Hammer with a best of 48.62m. NSW occupied all five places in this event. Audrey Muscat (W35) also won the Hammer with a best of 31.88m. Gabi Watts took out the W45 Hammer with a best of 37.44m followed by Caroline Layt (33.77m). Multi-eventer June Lowe won the W60 Hammer with a best of 34.84m followed by Denise Palmer (29.51m). Michael Laws (M30) got one good throw in (23.11m) to take Gold in his category. Jim Fassolis (M45) took the Gold with a best of 41.25m. In the M50 Hammer, NSW occupied first to fourth places: - Stuart Gyngell (45.06m), Phil Frkovic (43.36m), Robert Clark (27.11m) and George Jankowski (26.07m). Ron Simcock placed first in the M75 category with a throw of 35.53m. The legendary Norm Windred (M85) took out the event with a best of 21.84m. In the Shot Put, Melissa Holahan (W30) took out the event with a best of 10.44m. NSW athletes also placed second (Amanda Jordan 8.18m), third (Karen Short 7.65m) and fourth (Belinda Westcott 6.76m). Kelly Hunter (W35) took out the event with a best of 10.26m with Audrey Muscat second (9.83m). Samantha Latanis (W40) took the title with a best of 10.66m followed by Jenny Bishop (8.99m). Gabi Watts (W45) took Gold with a best of 11.02m followed by Caroline Layt (10.69m). In the W55 category, NSW again occupied the first four placings: - Christine Shaw (9.36m), Jill Taylor (9.23m), Wendy Hord (8.55m) and Ellena Cubban (8.07m). The legendary Mary Thomas took out the M70 category with a best of 8.03m. Mavis Gibbs, our oldest athlete this year took out the W90 category with a best of 2.08m. In the M30 category, NSW secured first, second and third: - Morgan Westmoreland (11.97m), Stephen Bullock (9.31m) and Michael Laws (8.26m). Jamie Muscat (M35) won his category with a best of 14.00m. State Open Shot Put Champion Stuart Gyngell took out the M50 category with a best of 16.90m. Gavin Murray won Gold in the M60 category with a distance of 11.90m. Leo Christopher (M70) took the title with 12.23m. Ron Simcock (M75) took the title with a best of 9.98m. Norm Windred (M85) was again triumphant with a best of 7.45m. In the Long Jump, NSW got first and second in the M30 category: - Aanika Milne (4.65m) and Melissa Holahan (3.83m). Alice Bohdan who also contested the sprints, took out the W40 category with a best jump of 4.81m. Sally Stagles (4.09m) and Vicki Townsend (3.87m) placed first and second in the W50 category as did Christine Shaw (4.05m) and Ellena Cubban (3.35m) in the W55 category. Michael Laws was again successful in the M30 age category. His best leap was 5.85m from Stephen Bullock (4.37m). Another first and second result for NSW came in the M35 age category: - David Thebridge (5.85m) from Steve Clark (5.52m). In the M40 age category, NSW occupied the first four places: - Andrew Cassin (6.01m), Paul Waite (5.69m), Lawrence Demasi (5.33m) and Dominic Carr (5.08m). In the M45 category, Ed Van Der Jagt took Gold with a leap of 5.42m. Albert Gay (M70), in his comeback meet, took Gold with 4.02m from Kenneth Stubbs (2.12m). A very successful day came to an end. I had some homework to do by selecting our teams for the 4 x 100m Relays which will be held on Sunday. I ve never had so many athletes at my disposal and I knew I had some hard decisions in front of me. Day Two: - We had torrential rain overnight and it was only marginally better when I arrived at the Sally Stagles track. Being a distance runner, I 3 following ipad images, M Walker quite like competing in these conditions so I was hoping that these conditions would prevail at the time of my Steeple race. At least it wasn t cold. 3

4 The first track event of the day was the 5000m Walk. NSW team members again had success in this event. Kay Heinecke (W35) took Gold in a time of 38: Ian Jessurun (M45) added to his 1500m title with another Gold medal in a time of 25: One of our legends of Race Walking in NSW, Robert Osborne took out the M55 title in a time of 29: Equally at home as a distance runner, he is one of the most versatile athletes I ve had the pleasure of competing with (plus he is a good bloke!) Another legend in Jim Seymon took Gold in the M75 category in a time of 33: The weather conditions improved while the sprint hurdles were conducted. I am always amazed with all the different distances, heights and hurdle spacings in this event. Luckily, there were a lot of helpers to assist between races. Aanika Milne (W30) took Gold in the 100m Hurdles in a time of 17.05sec. In the W45 80m Hurdles, NSW achieved another first and second finish with Lenore Lambert first (13.37sec) from Janet Naylon (16.56sec). Sally Stagles was also successful in the W50 category in a time of 13.52sec. Robyn Suttor (W55) also took Gold in a time of 14.87sec. June Lowe (18.24sec) and Robyn Eyears (28.49sec) achieved another first and second finish in the W60 category. Stuart Guthrie (M35) took Gold in the 110m Hurdles in a time of 17.65sec. David Murphy (M45) took first place in a time of 19.45sec followed by Brian Speed (20.36sec). There was a NSW trifecta in the M50 100m Hurdles with Tim McGrath (18.49sec) winning from Dean Taylor (19.06sec) and George Jankowski (23.18sec). Brendan Dwyer (19.09sec) just shaded Paul Carr (19.39sec) in the M55 category. The 1500m is always a popular event and the numbers in each age category were very healthy which meant each race was of a high standard. Belinda Martin made it a hat trick of distance titles with Gold in the W40 age category. She won in a time of 4:43.54 from Kriszta Kovacs (5:04.76), Sally Hannah (5:18.25) and Susan Crosson (5:34.99). Rosemary Roediger (5:51.02) took out the W60 category. Paula Moorhouse (W65) added to her 800m title with another win in a time of 6: Michael Chapman (M30) took Gold in a great time of 4: Simon White took Silver in the M35 category but had an outstanding run finishing in a time of 4: Neil Pearson took Silver in the M40 category in a great time of 4:32.99 followed by Michael Doggett (4:39.36), Justin Keane (4:48.35) and Paul Ray (4:54.28). Jason McIntosh took Silver in the M45 category in another great time of 4:31.33 followed by David Tonge (4:33.34). Don Mathewson continued his great form in the M70 category with Gold in a time of 5: John Warren took Gold in the M75 category in a time of 6: After the 200m heats, it was time for the Steeplechase events. Unlike last year, I felt confident and focussed and warmed up well. It didn t even worry me that there wasn t much water in the water jump. In fact I knew I could use it to my advantage. However, the 2000m races (All women & M60+ men) were first. The women s race was first and Melissa Holahan (M30), who had already won medals in the throws events, took out her age category in a time of 12: Robyn Smith (M45) was happy with her time in taking Silver in a time of 9: Caroline Yarnell (M55) took Gold in her category in a great time of 8:49.22 which was a new State Record. In the Men s 60+ race, Steve Napper (M65) showed the benefits of some coaching in the weeks prior to the event with a personal best time of 9: He also took the Bronze medal. Garry Womsley It was soon time for the M m Steeple. Including me, there were 5 in my age category (M50). Having only 2 races under my belt in the last 12 months, I knew that I had to improve markedly on my times from the State Masters & State Open to even get the Bronze. However, my last couple of road races over 5km were a big improvement on previous races so I did feel confident. I got a good start and settled into third. I was watchful at the first water jump as it was still only three quarters full and the two athletes behind me really struggled with it so I decided to really go for it and try to clear the water completely for the rest of the race. First Tony Dell of Victoria and then Nigel England of the ACT really took me on and got in front of me at different times but my correct technique kept me close to them. On the water jump in particular, I was clearing it while they were landing quite deep so gradually I was able to wear them down and have a small lead at the bell. At this point, I knew I was going to get the Bronze but made sure that there were no slip ups. There were none and I was able to keep them at bay. Philip Russell of NT (11:41.30) took Gold, Bernard Howe of NSW (12:33.37) took Silver and I was overjoyed to get Bronze in a time of 12: It was a season best and 46 seconds faster than my State Masters time. 4

5 In the M35 age category, NSW got another trifecta. Simon White was outstanding in getting a time of 11:13.40, followed by Damien Meyer (12:53.13) and Anatoly Kirievsky who made his Steeplechase debut with Bronze in a time of 16: The consistent Geoff Hynoski took Bronze in the M45 category in a time of 12: The 200m finals were next on the programme. In the W30 category, Kylie Wilmott continued her good form with a very close 2 nd in a time of 27.00sec. Aanika Milne took Bronze in a time of 27.63sec. Janelle Delaney (W45) took Gold in a time of 26.73sec. NSW were again strong in the W50 category. Julie Forster again took Gold in a time of 28.20sec from Vicki Townsend (29.54sec) and Lynda Douglass (30.10sec). The W55 category also provided a trifecta for NSW: - Robyn Suttor (30.57sec) first followed by Christine Shaw (31.14sec) and Margaret Walker (32.19sec). Kathleen Cook took Gold in the W75 category in a time of 43.65sec. In the M35 category, there was a close finish between Jay Stone (22.86sec) taking Gold from Ashley McMahon (23.05sec). Ed White took Gold in the M40 category in a time of 23.19sec with Christopher Martin not far away in 3 rd (24.41sec). Chris Brack (M45) continued his good form to take Gold in a time of 24:04. George Papalaxion finished 3 rd in a time of 25.72sec. Darren Hughes grabbed another Gold medal in the M50 category in a time of 24.22sec. Ken Porter won the M60 category in a time of 26.83sec. In a close race, Drew Percival placed third (27.88sec), followed by Victor Ramondetta (27.91sec), Antony Morphis (28.31sec) and Alan Carey (28.55sec). Neville McIntyre won the M70 title in a time of 28.45sec. Bruce Green (31.06sec) placed 3 rd. Day 2 on the track concluded with some heats in the 400m. NSW also had some great success in the field events. In the Discus, the W30 category saw another 1 st, 2 nd & 3 rd with Melissa Holahan (27.1m) taking Gold from Karen Short (22.64m) and Belinda Westcott (18.12m). It was also 1 st & 2 nd in the W35 category with Kelly Hunter first (36.22m) from Audrey Muscat (27.68m). Another trifecta was had in the W40 category with Samantha Latanis first (33.05m) from Lynette Smith (29.88m) and Jenny Bishop (27.67m). Gabi Watts took out the W45 category with a best throw of 35.08m. Mary Thomas won the M70 category with a best throw of 19.53m. Mavis Gibbs took Gold in the M90 category with a throw of 3.57m. Michael Laws continued his golden run with a best throw in the M30 category of 26.80m. Jamie Muscat took out the M35 category with a best of 39.29m. Martin Harland took Gold in the M50 category (49.73m) from Stuart Gyngell (49.48m) in a very close finish. Robert Hanbury-Brown took out the M55 category with a best of 35.18m. Gavin Murray (M60) took Gold with a throw of 43.19m. John Gordon took the M65 title with a best of 35.47m. Norm Windred again took Gold in the M85 category (17.99m). In the Javelin, Melissa Holahan again took Gold in the W30 category. Her best throw was 22.48m. Belinda Westcott took Silver with a throw of 18.40m. Kelly Hunter took Gold in the M35 category with a best of 27.27m. Lynette Smith put in a strong performance in the W40 category to win with 32.88m. There was a close finish in the W45 category with Janie Carter taking Gold with a best throw of 23.62m. Gabi Watts took Bronze with a throw of 23.17m. Christine Shaw took the W55 title with a best of 28.56m. Ellena Cubban was second with a best of 21.65m. June Lowe took Gold in the W60 category (21.40m) followed by Kate Clarke (19.47m). Mary Thomas again took Gold in the M70 category with a throw of 22.46m. The M45 category produced some strong performances from all three medallists. Mark Geddes took Gold with a mighty throw of 41.41m followed by David Murphy (39.72m) and Geoff Carter (39.58m). The M50 category also finished with a result of one, two and three for NSW. Alan Provenzano took Gold with 39.89m followed by Tim McGrath (38.04m) and Laurie Downing (36.73m). There were also some great throws in the M55 category. Andrew Atkinson-Howatt (38.81m) took Silver with Kevin Fisher (38.05m) taking Bronze. Norm Windred was again successful in the W85 category (14.59m). Aanika Milne took Gold in the W30 High Jump with a best of 1.35m. It was first & second in the W35 category with Janine Mladin (1.35m) taking Gold from Montse Ros (1.20m). Lynette Smith was again successful in the W40 category with a mighty jump of 1.50m. Lenore Lambert took Gold in the W45 category with a best of 1.45m. It was close in the W55 category with Sally Stagles first (1.30m) followed by Vicki Townsend (1.25m). It was a joint Gold in the W55 category with Christine Shaw and Margaret Walker both being successful with 1.25m. June Lowe took Gold in the W60 category with a best jump of 1.10m. 5

6 Andrew Cassin Weizhen Zhang took Gold in the M30 category with 1.75m from Michael Laws (1.55m). David Thebridge won the M35 category with a jump of 1.70m. Andrew Cassin was successful in the M40 category (1.65m). Another trifecta came in the M50 category with Georg Herger (1.60m) first in a countback from Laurie Downing (1.60m) and Volodymyr Shelever (1.50m). It was also close in the M55 category with Paul Nies taking Gold in a three way countback (1.40m). Clay Tompkins won the M60 category comfortably with a great jump of 1.45m. John Searle and John Gordon could not be separated in the M65 category each recording 1.45m. Ron Simcock took Gold in the M70 category with a best of 1.20m. Another successful day finally came to an end. I looked forward to Day 3 and the 4 x 100m Relays which always get the adrenaline pumping. Day Three: - Day 3 dawned fine which was a relief to everyone. The most important part of the day for me as Manager was the 4 x 100m Relays. I had already put the teams together on Friday night and apart from a little bit of tweaking here and there, were finalised fairly early. The hardest part for me is always who to leave out particularly when the times are fairly close but I always make sure that the strongest possible team is selected. The first events on the track were the 5000m events. I was called on to do some lap scoring which I always find enjoyable. I get a great view of the action and also get to help the athletes by letting them know how many laps they have to go. In the W30 category, NSW had another first and second result with Emily McKenzie winning in a time of 19:24.57 followed by Jessica Clifton (23:33.02). Joanne Wilson ran a great race in the W35 category to finish with Bronze in a time of 19:44.16 in a strong field. Belinda Martin again took Gold in the W40 category in an excellent time of 17: She was followed by Gillian Sohun (19:55.17) and Robyn Demasi (21:32.56). Angie Carpini put in another great performance in the W50 category to take Gold in a personal best time of 18: Rosemary Roediger continued her good form in the W60 category to take Gold in a time of 20: In the M30 category, Michael Chapman took Gold in a good time of 19: The M35 category was of a high standard with Simon White getting Silver in a time of 17:28.60 from Damien Meyer (19:47.92). Neil Pearson took Gold in the M40 category with an outstanding time of 15: In the M45 category, the first 6 placegetters finished under 18 minutes. Richard Palmer finished 5 th in a time of 17:21.76 which would have won most age categories. Manu Sivaraj took Bronze in the M50 category with a time of 17: Barry Willis placed 4 th in the M55 category in a time of 18:39.23 in another high standard race. Greg Cowley took Bronze in the M60 category in a time of 18: Don Mathewson took the title in the M70 category in a good time of 19: The 400m finals were conducted in good conditions and NSW again had a lot of success. Janelle Delaney broke a State Record in the W45. She took Gold in a time of 57.93sec. Peter Crombie said on Facebook that the run would have won every world title since 2005 and likely prior. So Janelle s performance was a significant achievement. Julie Forster continued her sparkling form in the W50 category with another Gold medal in a time of 63.29sec. The M30 was of a very high standard. Michael Laws took Silver with a great time of 54.62sec just in front of Greg Eyears (55.12sec). The M35 race saw the entire field finish under 1 minute. Jay Stone ran a blistering 49.86sec to take Gold from Ashley McMahon (51.33sec). Steve Clark finished 5 th in 55.23sec. The M40 race was also strong with George Papalexion finishing 4 th in a time of 55.28sec and Lawrence Demasi 6 th in 58.24sec. There was another close finish in the W45 age category. Chris Brack finished a close 3 rd in a time of 53.12sec. Darrin James was 4 th in 55.99sec. Darren Hughes continued his great form with another win in the M50 category. He finished in a time of 53.25sec. Trevor Young took Silver in the M55 category in a photo finish in a time of 56.04sec. Another very close finish in the M60 race saw Ken Porter take Silver in 60.13sec which was just 0.02sec behind the winner. Victor Ramondetta was not far behind in 3 rd (62.39sec). John Lamb took Gold in the M65 race in a time of 61.07sec more than 6 seconds in front of the second placed athlete. Neville McIntyre again took Gold in the M70 category Greg Eyears in a time of 70.56sec. 6

7 It was great that the Champion of Champions 100m races were on at a more suitable time this year. It is a showpiece event that deserves its rightful recognition from a good crowd in attendance. Unfortunately, it was held in Hobart last year at the end of the first day with not a lot of spectators there to witness two great races. Run under handicap conditions based on times and age ratings, it is always a close finish and this year was no different. In the men s race there were 5 starters with 3 from NSW in Darren Hughes (12m), Neville McIntyre (23m) and Ashley McMahon (3.8m). Continuing his golden form, Darren Hughes flew home to win in a time of 10.44sec from Rob Mayston of Victoria (10.57sec) with Neville McIntyre 3 rd in a time of 10.62sec. Ashley McMahon finished 5 th in 10.95sec. NSW had 2 representatives in the women s race in a field of 9 starters. Both Julie Forster and Lynda Douglass were off a handicap of 17m. In another exciting finish, Lyn Peake of SA won the race in a time of 11.25sec from a fast finishing Julie Forster (11.32sec) from Julie Brims of QLD (11.42sec). Lynda Douglass wasn t far away in 5 th place in a time of 11.75sec. NSW was able to enter a team in each age category and gender of the 4 x 100m relays. The first race was the women s 220+ category. Our team of June Lowe, Maria Cimino, Kathleen Cook and Robyn Suttor ran a good race and were never far away in finishing a close 4 th in a time of 62.80sec. The men s 240+ category was next. NSW had 4 in form sprinters in Neville McIntyre, Drew Percival, Trevor Young and Ken Porter and they didn t disappoint. They took Gold by over 6 seconds in a time of 52.62sec in a great performance. It was a close finish in the women s 170+ category. NSW had a strong team of Julie Forster, Lynda Douglass, Sally Stagles and Vicki Townsend and they performed well to be just beaten by QLD. Their time was a very good 53.77sec. It was another very close finish in the men s 180+ category. The NSW team of George Papalexion, Alan Provenzano, Andrew Cassin and Mick Daly finished 3 rd in a time of 47.80sec. Only 1.5sec separated the first three teams. Our 120+ women s team of Kylie Wilmott, Monique Perry, Alice Bohdan and Aanika Milne were too strong for their opposition in winning in a time of 50.60sec which was more than 4 seconds faster than the second placed WA. The 120+ Men s team of Greg Eyears, Ashley McMahon, Darren Hughes and Chris Brack also took Gold in a great time of 46.52sec. From the 6 relay teams, NSW earned 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal. This was a very pleasing result. All athletes who competed gave it everything and did the state proud. The final events on the track on day 3 were the 300m & 400m Hurdles. Dean Park took Gold in the M35 category 400m Hurdles in a time of 1: Lawrence Demasi took Silver in the M40 category 400m Hurdles in a time of 67.7sec. David Murphy finished a close 3 rd in the M45 category 400m Hurdles in a time of 67.89sec. The M50 category 400m Hurdles had 5 starters all from NSW. Georg Herger took the title in a time of 66.65sec followed by Anthony O Connor (67.31sec), Dean Taylor (68.72sec), Chris Strickland (69.50sec) and yours truly in a very distant 1:26.09! Brendan Dwyer ran strongly in the M55 category 400m Hurdles to take Gold in a good time of 69.96sec from Paul Carr (77.09sec). In the M60 category 300m Hurdles, Neil Fowler was too strong and took Gold in a time of 50.92sec. Wayne Marriott took Bronze in a time of 57.49sec. Despite a slight injury, nothing could stop John Lamb taking out the M65 300m Hurdles in a great time of 49.05sec. He finished a massive 18.74sec in front of the second placed athlete. Karen Short took Gold in the W30 400m Hurdles in a time of 1: Kriszta Kovacs took Silver in the W35 400m Hurdles in a time of 75.27sec. Lenore Lambert took the title in the W40 400m Hurdles in a time of 69.03sec followed by Suzanne Brown (1:48.57) who was making her hurdles debut. Sally Stagles took out the W50 300m Hurdles in a very tight finish in a time of 53.20sec. Robyn Suttor backed up well after the 4 x 100m with a win in the W55 300m Hurdles in a time of 55.28sec followed by Margaret Walker (61.86sec). Robyn Eyears took Gold in the W60 300m Hurdles in a time of 2: In the field, the Throws Pentathlons were held today. In the W30 category, Melissa Holahan took Gold with a total point score of 3138 points from Melissa Baulman (1540 points) and Karen Short (1443 points). In the W35 category, Audrey Muscat took Gold with a total point score of In the W40 category, Lynette Smith took the title with 2983 points with Samantha Latanis third (2890 points). In the W45 category, Gabi Watts took Gold with 3873 points. She broke State Records in the Hammer (39.29m) and Weight Throw (13.88m) during the event. Caroline Layt (3192 points) took the Silver. In the W50 category, Glenys Whitehead broke the State Record with her total of 3433 points. Vicki Townsend took Bronze with a total of 2900 points. In the W55 category, Christine Shaw took Silver with 3178 points followed by Jill Taylor (3120 points). In the W60 7

8 category, June Lowe took Gold by a convincing margin with 3570 points followed by Denise Palmer (3207 points). Mary Thomas won another title in the W70 category with 4333 points. This was a massive 1448 points in front of second place. Michael Laws took yet another Gold medal in the M30 category with a total point score of 1790 points. It was a close finish in the M35 category with just 46 points separating 1 st and 2 nd. Jamie Muscat took the Silver medal with a total point score of 3114 points. Rodney Watson took the Bronze medal in the M40 category with a total of 2741 points. Jim Fassolis got the Silver medal in the M45 category with a point score of 2716 points. Stuart Gyngell had a big win in the M50 category with 4072 points followed by Robert Clark (2246 points). In the M55 category, only 4 points separated 1 st and 2 nd. Robert Hanbury-Brown took the Silver medal with 3180 points. There was another close battle in the M60 category with Gavin Murray finishing on top with 3695 points. Ron Simcock took the title in the M75 category with a point score of 3829 points. In the Triple Jump, the W30 category provided another clean sweep for NSW with Aanika Milne first (10.21m) followed by Pennelope Nash (8.71m) and Jessica Clifton (8.61m). Alice Bohdan took Silver in the W40 category with a best jump of 10.17m just 0.15m behind first place. Vicki Townsend took the Gold in the W50 category with a jump of 8.75m. Christine Shaw added another Gold medal in the W55 category with a best jump of 8.39m. In the M30 category Michael Laws saved his best jump for last to take Gold with 12.38m. Stuart Guthrie took the Gold medal in the M35 category with 11.70m. Anatoloy Kirievsky took the Bronze (7.74m). Less than 2 metres separated 1 st to 4 th in the M40 category. In an all NSW event, Andrew Cassin was first with 11.32m from Dominic Carr (10.98m), Lawrence Demasi (10.75m) and Jason Cheney (9.41m). Clay Tompkins took out the M60 category with a great jump of 10.50m followed by Wayne Marriott (8.59m). John Searle won the M65 category with a jump of 9.91m. In the Pole Vault, Montse Ros took out the W35 category with a best of 2.60m. Selina Ellis took out the W45 category with a best of 2.10m. David Murphy took Silver in the M45 category with a vault of 2.40m. There was another first and second for NSW in the M50 category with Tim McGrath (3.20m) taking Gold from George Jankowski (2.80m). William Tyler took the title in the M55 category with a best of 3.20m. Chris Norris placed third with 2.40m. Tom Barber (2.30m) took Bronze in the M65 category. Albert Gay, after two years of injury, was pleased to win the M70 category with a best of 3.00m. Another long and successful day came to an end. I still had some homework to do to finalise the 4 x 400m relay teams but I had some in-form athletes available so I didn t think that it would take me long. I was looking forward to day 4. Day 4: - It was a foggy start to the final day but it wasn t long before the sun appeared and made it quite hot for the competitors. The only events on the track today were the running events for the Outdoor Pentathlon and the 4 x 400m Relays. There were also the two out of stadium events (8km Cross Country & 10km Walk) which were held in the surrounding bush and road areas. In the 8km Cross Country, in the W30 category, Emily McKenzie took the Gold medal in a time of 33:42. Belinda Martin capped off a great meet by winning the W40 category in a time of 29:56. She also won titles in 800m, 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m. This was a very remarkable performance. Less than a minute separated the first three placegetters in the W45 category with Cristine Suffolk taking Bronze in a time of 34:33. Angie Carpini won the W50 category by nearly 4 minutes in a time of 32:47. Rosemary Roediger also capped off a great meet with another Gold medal in the W60 category in a time of 35:54. Dorothy Siepmann got a Silver medal in the W70 category in a time of 1: In the very competitive men s race, Simon White placed 2 nd in the M35 category in a time of 30:37 followed by Damien Meyer (35:32). Paul Ray took the Bronze medal in the M40 category in a time of 31:32. Jason McIntosh took the Bronze medal in the M45 category in a time of 30:08. Manu Sivaraj took the Silver medal in the M50 category in a time of 30:10. Jose Cavalho won the M55 category in a time of 30:14. Greg Cowley placed second in the M60 category in a time of 32:05. Frank Scorzelli put in his usual wholehearted performance in taking the bronze medal in the M65 category in a time of 34:47. Remarkably, this category had 11 finishers! Only 16 seconds covered the first two placegetters in the M70 category with Don Mathewson placing second in a time of 34:16. John Spinney (M75) got another Gold medal in a time of 42:30. In the 10km Walk, we had only 3 starters in the women s race with all 3 getting medals: - Suzanne Brown placed 1 st in the W45 category in 1:14:38, Annette Tillman placed 3 rd in the W50 category in 1:36:53 and Judy Brown placed 2 nd in the W65 category in 1:29:48. In the men s race, Ian Jessurun won the M45 category in a time of 52:28. Robert Osborne took the Silver medal in the M55 category in a time of 1:03:24. 8

9 John West placed 3 rd in the M60 category with a time of 1:10:17. In the M70 category, Baden White placed 2 nd in a time of 1:17:21. In the M75 category, the legendary Jim Seymon again took Gold in a great time of 1:06:57. In the Outdoor Pentathlon, NSW were again successful. In the W30 category, it was again, first, second and third. Jessica Clifton (1764 points) took Gold, from Pennelope Nash (1679 points) and Karen Short (1444 points). In the W40 category, Alice Bohdan (3166 points) took Silver from Maria Cimino (1942 points). Richelle Ingram took Silver in the W45 category with a total of 2471 points. Vicki Townsend had a very successful meet over various events in both track and field. She picked up Silver in the W50 category with a total of 2974 points. In the W55 category, it was again first and second for NSW with Christine Shaw (3567 points) and Ellena Cubban (2071 points) grabbing the medals. Jillian Senior took the Silver medal in the W60 category with 1722 points. In the M35 category, Steve Clark (2273 points) placed 2 nd with Anatoly Kirievsky (1454 points) 3 rd. Mike Everett took the Gold medal in the M40 category with 2434 points. EJ Davie took the Bronze (904 points). Alan Provenzano took the Gold medal in the M50 category which came down to the final event (1500m). His time of 6:07.70 was just enough to get him home by 4 points. His points total was It was another first and second placing in the M55 category. Kevin Fisher took the title with a total of 2634 points with Robert Hanbury-Brown second with 1496 points. Victor Ramondetta took the Silver medal in the M60 category with a total point score of 2075 points. John Gordon took the Gold medal in the M65 category by over 500 points with a total of 2900 points. Albert Gay took another Gold medal in the M70 category with 2457 points followed by Kenneth Stubbs (1116 points). Brian Sharpe took the title in the M80 category with a total of 1120 points. The 4 x 400m Relays were brought forward from their original time slot as a number of competitors from interstate had booked flights in the afternoon. However, it didn t make a lot of difference as there were only a small amount of teams entered. NSW were able to enter a men s team in each age category and one strong women s team in the 170+ category. So NSW had the most teams entered with four. In the men s 240+ race, our team of Alan Carey, John Lamb, Neville McIntyre and Vic Ramondetta were strong from the start and won comfortably with a time of 4: They finished 1 minute & 43 seconds in front of the second placed QLD in a dominant performance. Our women s 170+ team of Karen Herrmann, Julie Forster, Deborah Drennan and Robyn Suttor were also never headed and took Gold in a time of 4: In the men s 180+ category, our team of Peter Murray, Darren Hughes, Trevor Young and Brad Sharpe performed gallantly in taking the Silver medal in a time of 3:47.87 which was just 6 seconds behind the very good VIC team. Our men s 120+ team of Ashley McMahon, Chris Brack, Darrin James and Lawrence Demasi took the Gold medal in a time 3:44.39 which was another great performance. 3 Gold and 1 Silver medal from our 4 teams was an excellent result. From our ten teams in both the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays, NSW earned 6 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze medal. I was very honoured to manage such great teams. In the Weight Throw, Melissa Holahan got another Gold medal in the W30 category with 15.33m, followed by Amanda Jordan (7.78m) and Melissa Baulman (7.00m). In the W35 category, Audrey Muscat took the Silver medal with a throw of 10.48m just 0.07m behind the winner. Samantha Latanis also took the Silver in the W40 category with a best of 10.14m. Gabi Watts won the W45 category with 12.85m from Caroline Layt (10.60m). In another close finish, Glenys Whitehead took the Silver with 12.42m in the W50 category with Vicki Townsend third (10.80m). In the W55 category, Wendy Hord placed second (10.74m) with Jill Taylor third (10.71m). It was first and second in the W60 category with June Lowe (13.15m) taking Gold from Denise Palmer (11.78m). Mary Thomas took home another medal with Silver in the W70 category (10.60m). Michael Laws earned yet another Gold medal in the M30 category with a best of 10.69m. Jamie Muscat took Silver in the M35 category (13.14m). Jim Fassolis took a Silver medal in the M45 category with 11.21m. Matt Stenning was third (10.85m). NSW took the trifecta in the M50 category with Stuart Gyngell winning with 16.04m from Phil Frkovic (15.02) and Robert Clark (12.12m). Lajos Joni (M55) took the Silver medal with 12.96m. Gavin Murray took the Silver medal with 15.63m in the M60 category. In the M75 category, Ron Simcock took Gold with a best of 13.89m. In the M85 category, Norm Windred capped a golden meet with another first placing with 9.45m. In the Champion of Champions Discus, NSW were well represented in both the men s and women s events. Like the 100m event, each competitor is given a handicap based on their performance and age grading. Out of the 5 competitors in the men s event, 4 were from NSW: - Jamie Muscat (+10.71m), Gavin Murray (+6.81m), Martin Harland (+0.27m) and Robert Hanbury-Brown (+14.82m). In the women s event, there were 10 competitors with 5 from NSW: - Mary Thomas (+30.47m), Kelly Hunter (+13.78m), Gabi Watts (+14.92m), Melissa Holahan 9

10 (+22.90m) and Samantha Latanis (+16.95m). Jamie Muscat took out the men s event with 57.82m, followed by Gavin Murray (50.56m) 2 nd, Martin Harland (49.58m) 3 rd and Robert Hanbury-Brown (49.02m) 4 th. Jamie Muscat Jill Taylor Mary Thomas won the women s event with 52.83m from Kelly Hunter (51.64m) 2 nd, Gabi Watts (51.52m) 3 rd, Melissa Holahan (51.46m) 4 th and Samantha Latanis (49.44m) 9 th. Photo Audrey Thompson I was both honoured and privileged to be asked to present the medals for the final couple of hours. I ve never done this before and I found it very fulfilling. To see the joy on all the athlete s faces as they received their medals was great to see. Fortunately, all the events and medal presentations were over by the time a thunderstorm hit the track with gusto. In closing, I would like to thank each and every one of our team of 337 athletes. It was the biggest ever team since Masters/Veterans Athletics started in Australia and as Manager I was really honoured to represent you all. I ve been Manager for the last 4 Nationals but this one was definitely the happiest and most enjoyable. I love the team spirit that we now show. The other states now look at us with envy. I m sure that will continue into the future. I ve had just as much fun writing this report. I ve tried to mention as many of you as possible because you deserve it. The full results of all events can be found at NSWMA COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2014/2015 Position Name Phone Official President Stuart Gyngell president@nswmastersathetics.org.au Vice President Jill Taylor Secretary Mark Johnston secretary@nswmastersathletics.org.au Treasurer/Public Officer Anatoly Kirievsky treasurer@nswmastersathletics.org.au Registrar Audrey Thomson registrar@nswmastersathletics.org.au Records Peter Murray records@nswmastersathletics.org.au Uniforms Belinda Westcott uniforms@nswmastersathletics.org.au Website Janie Carter website@nswmastersathletics.org.au Waratah Editor Margaret Walker editor@nswmastersathletics.org.au Track Rep Chris Brack Field Rep Jamie Muscat Walks Rep Distance Rep Garry Womsley LOC Convenor Jill Taylor LOC@nswmastersathletics.org.au Correction The Waratah would like to correct a mistake from our January issue. Heather Lee was 88 when she competed at Pan Pacs last November, and had not recently turned 85 as we reported. Heather is a champion race walker and world record holder. The Waratah apologises for the error and wishes Heather many more enjoyable years in athletics. 10

11 Masters Half Marathon Championships - Hobart, Tasmania: 11th January 2015 by Allan Wareham Tasmania is probably the best place in Australia to run a mid-summer marathon or half marathon. The weather was almost ideal for distance running with the temperature at around 12 degrees C at the start, and almost no wind. Even the humidity was low when compared to mainland venues. It even helped that there was a good cloud cover for the 6:30am start and for most of the event. The Tasmanian Masters Athletics hosts issued a warm invitation to all visitors without the slightest sign of any interstate rivalry. We were all invited to leave our gear at the tent for Masters competitors and enjoyed their hospitality before and after. (Our thanks to Mike Walker from TMA.) The Half Marathon course starts from the Cadbury Chocolate Factory and parallels the River Derwent to a turnaround point on the other side of the Bowen Bridge with the finish back at the Chocolate Factory. Apart from a few undulations the course was relatively flat and conducive to fast times. All roads were closed to traffic and drink stations well stocked. The presentation of medals was on-time at precisely 9:30am, as advertised. On the whole the event (run in conjunction with the Hobart Marathon) was very well organised and supported. As someone who runs for enjoyment of the camaraderie, and despite running about 4 minutes faster in a recent Sydney Half Marathon (November 2014), I managed to come away with the gold medal (Age Category 75-79). With the greatest respect to all the other runners of my vintage, it sure helped that they decided to stay home on this occasion. My greatest surprise was to learn that I had established a new Tasmanian "all-comers" record for the Half. Hope to see you back in Tassie next year. I was 3rd overall and 1st Master in the halfmarathon. It was tough having that hill in the final stretch but I was pretty happy with my finish time - even though it's a fair bit slower than my best time for the distance. And it's always nice for someone in my age group to finish on the podium!! Rachel Glasson Rachel with Neil Pearson Rachel on the right. Also on the podium is Clare Geraghty. Photo Neil Pearson NSW Results Rachel Glasson W40 1:24:08 Catherine Bylett W40 1:33:21 Neil Pearson M40 1:13:30 Bob Martin M65 1:40:34 Allan Wareham M75 2:07:14 Congratulations to Neil and Allan whose times were Tasmanian Open Records. 11

12 MASTERS ATHLETES SHARE IN TOP AWARDS by Valmai Loomes, Secretary IBS Illawarra Blue Stars has always prided itself on their Masters athletes and they are recognised along with all other members of the club when it comes to the Award and Presentation evening. The season 2014/2015 was no different, with many of the club s Masters being recipients of major awards for their top efforts, in some cases sharing with junior and senior athletes Female sprinter Gianna Mogentale (50/55) shared the Female Sprinter of the year with Open Athlete, Stephanie Power, whilst thrower Mary Thomas (70/75) also shared the Thrower of the Year Award with the club s Australian open shot champ, Chelsea Lenarduzzi. Male sprinter, John Lamb, was selected as Outstanding Athletic Performance whilst June Lowe shared the same women s award with, again, Australian Open Shot Champion Chelsea Lenarduzzi. Judith Rigg photo A Walker Middle Distance athlete Darren James narrowly defeated another Masters athlete, Geoff Hynoski, for the Middle/Long distance award, whilst Geoff Hynoski picked up the award for Loyal Support to Club and Community Welfare along with sprinter, Gianna Mogentale, for the women s award in the same category. Both have given all round support to the club and, at the same time, are committed to community activities such as Tri the Gong. Gianna also raises money for the Cancer Appeal by gaining sponsors for events she contests. Gianna Mogentale photo Kip Hobson in its Masters category. Newcomer to the club and masters athlete, Lynda Tracey, was awarded the Most Promising Distance Athlete of the Year coming into the club this season. Judith Rigg took out the Elvire Asprey award, donated to the club by Julie and Bruce Steele in recognition of Julie s late mum coming into the sport at a later age and then going on to take State and National Masters placings. Judith has emulated these performances by making her debut at the grand age of 68 and taking out State and Aussie placings at her first attempt. Rookie Masters athlete, Colin Clarson, came into IBS and masters athletics following his Open son, Jack, being a member of the club, and has taken to the sport like a true veteran. He, too, contested the State and National titles for the first time and improved his performances on all his runs at each attempt. Overall, the Masters athletes play an important part in the club s structure, and to be rewarded for their great efforts against some top class junior and senior athletes, shows the talent the club has Our club, IBS, welcomes any Masters athlete to our club, and can assure everyone they are accepted as a member just like any other athlete; and this shows with these top awards going to the above mentioned athletes. MASTERS MENS OVERALL POINT SCORE WINNERS 1 st Ian Smith 2 nd Geoff Hynoski 3 rd Mal Gibbs MASTERS WOMENS OVERALL POINT SCORE WINNERS 1 st Gianna Mogentale 2 nd Lynda Tracey 3 rd June Lowe For more information on IBS phone

13 Spotlight on - JUNE LOWE, IBS. Those of you who don t know June Lowe, seen here winning the W60 60m at the recent State Championships, may be wondering how anyone can get so far ahead in only nine seconds. Those of us who know June know why, every time we see those red, black, and yellow ribbons in her hair flying towards the finish line. DURING BEFORE An Aboriginal athlete from the Yuin nation, exhibiting an explosive start and powerful drive, June has been a sportswoman for most of her life. Now 60, she played A grade netball until ten years ago, only stopping when family members (not her husband, Des) told her she was too old. But without sport, her health took a nose dive. She gained weight, developed high cholesterol, and became pre- diabetic. And she smoked. June s horizon did not look bright. Something needed to change. In June 2009, June gave up smoking, and in October of that year read an article in the Illawarra Mercury, Forever Young, celebrating the late Elvire Asprey, whom I fondly remember running the 400m at Campbelltown in Inspired by Elvire s story, June returned to sport, joining Illawarra Blue Stars in The rest, as they say, is history. In the Country Championships at Glendale this year, June broke seven records: the 100m, high jump, long jump, shot put, discus, hammer and javelin throws, whilst battling a -3.5m/s headwind and an Achilles injury. AFTER She holds State records in 60m and long jump, and broke the high jump record shortly before blitzing the field in the photographs shown here. Then the javelin record after. Photos Amalia Walker And finally, now that Nationals are over, how substantial was June s medal count? 60m: 2 nd by 0.03s, 100m: 4 th by 0.01s (only six hundredths of a second separated the first four places), 80m hurdles: 1 st, high jump: 1 st, long jump: 2 nd, shot put: 2 nd, hammer throw: 1 st, javelin throw: 1 st, weight throw: 1 st, weight pentathlon: 1 st. Answer: quite substantial. Editor LINKS TO RESULTS Country Championships NSW State Championships AMA Nationals asters_results.pdf 13

14 UTS Norths Easter Medal Bonanza by Ron Bendall Eleven masters athletes from the Ron Bendall squad at UTS Norths contested the National Masters Athletics Championships over the Easter weekend at Bankstown, bringing home 25 medals; 8 gold, 11 silver and 6 bronze. In a dominant display of sprinting Ashley McMahon won gold in the M35 60m, 100m, and was a member of the winning 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams. He also collected silver medals in the 200m and 400m. World Champion sprinter Jackie Bezuidenhout won gold in the W45 long jump and 4x100m relay but was challenged in the sprints by a former world champion. Jackie won silver in the 100m, and bronze in the 60m and 200m. Competing at her first national championships, W40 athlete Alice Bohdan won a complete set of medals. Gold came on day 1 with a personal best in the long jump. Silver came on day 3 in the triple jump and on the final day in the pentathlon where Alice recorded 4 personal bests (100m, long jump, javelin and 800m) for an overall personal best total and state record of 3,166 points. Alice s bronze came in the high jump. Alice also contested the javelin for 4th place, the 60m where she placed 5th after running a personal best in the heats, and the 100m for 6th place. In the M35 category, David Thebridge won gold in the long jump and silver in the high jump. Competing in the W45 category Caroline Layt had a big program with 6 events resulting in 4 silver medals in the shot put (season best), hammer throw, weight throw and throws pentathlon with a season best point score and club record of 3,192 points. Caroline also scored a bronze medal in the discus and 4th place in the javelin. Also in the W45 category Janet Naylon made a successful return to hurdling with a silver medal in the 80m hurdles. She also recorded season best jumps in the long jump in both the individual competition and the pentathlon, for two 4th places. Janet also contested the 60m and 100m, finishing 5th and 6th. Photo Lauren Bohdan Front, L to R Ashley McMahon, Elijah McMahon, Maria Cimino, Paul Stinson, Jackie Bezuidenhout, Caroline Layt. Back Tony Crimi, Dave Smith, Janet Naylon, Alice Bohdan, Stuart Paterson. Oldest squad member, Dave Smith, won the bronze medal in the M60 60m dash with a new club record of 8.37 seconds. He then followed this with a 4th place finish in the 100m. Relative newcomer to athletics, Maria Cimino contested a record 9 events in the W40 category. Highlights were personal bests in the long jump and 800m during the pentathlon competition, which resulted in an overall personal best point score and bronze medal. Maria also recorded a personal best score in the throws pentathlon and came within a few 100ths of a second of a new PB in the 100m. M50 sprinter Tony Crimi reached the finals of the 60m, 100m and 200m with his best result being 6th in the 100m. Middle distance runner Stuart Paterson placed 5th in the M55 800m while Paul Stinson contested the heats of the M40 60m and 100m. After a brief recovery period Jackie, Janet and Stuart will be training for the World Masters Championships in Lyon in August while Caroline has her eyes set on a new age group at the Oceania Championships in the Cook Islands in October. Janet Naylon and Stuart Paterson have been appointed as Team Managers for the Australian Team at the WMA World Championships in Lyon, France in August. 14

15 2015 Athletics NSW Winter Series Sun 17th May Sun 24th May Sun 24th May Sat 30th May Sun 31st May Sat 20th June Sun 21st June Sun 28 June Sat 11th July Sun 26th July Sat 1 August Sun 23 Aug Sun 6th Sept Sun 20 Sept Sun 4th Oct Sun 18th Oct Sun 1st Nov Parkes Fun Run Harrison Park, Parkes, NSW NSW Team Walks Championships Charker Drive, Harrington Lake, Narellan, NSW Lap of the Lake Wheeler Park, off Narrabeen St, Narrabeen, NSW NSW Cross Country Relay Championships Miranda Park, The Kingsway, NSW Nowra Fun Run Nowra Showground, Scenic Dr, Nowra, NSW NSW Cross Country Championships Integral Energy Recreation Park, Darkes Road, Brownsville NSW Short Walks Championships Joe McAleer Park, Winton Drive, Glendenning, NSW (TBC) Casino Fun Run Queen Elizabeth Park, Hartley St, Casino, NSW NSW Road Relay Championships Newcastle University, Ourimbah Campus, Central Coast, NSW NSW Long Walks Championships Charker Drive, Harrington Lake, Narellan, NSW NSW Short Course Cross Country Championships Upjohn Park, Kirby Street, Rydalmere, NSW (TBC) NSW Half Marathon Championships SOPAC, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW Raymond Terrace Fun Run Vi Barnett Field, Kangaroo St, Raymond Terrace NSW Marathon Championships Bradfield Park, Milson's Point, NSW Goulburn Fun Run Carr Conroy Park, Forbes St, Goulburn, NSW Fernleigh 15 - NSW 15km Road Race Championships St Pius X High School, Park Ave, Adamstown, NSW Armidale Fun Run Harris Park, Kirkwood St, Armidale, NSW 15

16 2015 Australian Masters Decathlon and Heptathlon Lakeside Stadium Melbourne 28 Feb/1 March 2015 by Tim McGrath, with input from Peter Murray and Robert Hanbury-Brown Photos by Chris Boylen and the Athletes Victoria photographers, courtesy of their Facebook Page. The Australian Masters Decathlon and Heptathlon Championship consisted of fourteen competitors in the Decathlon and two in the Heptathlon. In addition there were also three competitors who entered the Victorian Masters Decathlon, one of which was Robert Hanbury- Brown from NSW. Overall there were four competitors from NSW: Andrew Kolrusch, Peter Murray, Robert Hanbury-Brown and myself. This NSW contingent all had different travel arrangements. Robert decided to cruise down by car over two days with a bit of sight-seeing along the way. I drove down in one day with a load of poles on the roof and returned in one day, again with poles plus an additional two cross bars for the nationals at Bankstown. Peter flew in on Friday night and Andrew Kolrush M45 out on Sunday afternoon. Andrew was the most efficient, flying in Saturday morning and out on Sunday evening. The venue, Lakeside stadium, is at Albert Park which is very close to the centre of Melbourne. The weather forecast was for 34 degrees and humid on Saturday with a cool change with thunderstorms and rain about the time of the 400m. For Sunday there was a predicted maximum of 19 degrees with showers. Sounds like a typical Melbourne weekend. To make the weekend more difficult, there was going to be a Colour Run around Albert Park with several thousand people and many roads and the main carpark to be closed in the morning. Fortunately we were able to leave our poles at the grounds on the Saturday. We arrived at the track in time to check in 1 hour before the 12:10 start. We soon found out that we had to go and sit in a call room 30min before our first event. This is not ideal for old bodies and meant we had to complete our warm up 30min before the first event. There were some well credentialed decathletes entered including Geoff Gibbons who holds the Australian M35 record, Justin Hanrahan who won M40 gold in Brazil and Terry Baldwin who holds the Australian M35 Pentathlon record. Amongst the NSW contingent we had different goals. Robert and Andrew are going to Lyon and are coming back from injury so just wanted to complete every event without injury. Robert did manage to start them all, only retiring at the first appearance of a finish line (300m) in the 1500m. Peter and I were trying to beat the state record that Peter set in Canberra 1 year ago. Day 1 was uneventful. The storm did not hit until we had returned to the hotel after a 7pm finish. Peter Murray and Terry Baldwin were having a close tussle, with Peter leading Terry by 73 points but with his best events now behind him! Terry meanwhile was performing especially well as he appeared to be suffering from severe back pain after every event. Both looked on track for their record performances. I did a PB in the long jump that I was happy with. Geoff Gibbons and Justin Hanrahan were on track for national records, with Justin scoring over 840 points in 3 events! There were impressive individual performances of 1.77m by Justin Hanrahan in the high jump and 14.20m in the shot put, and 1.71m in the high jump by Darrin Norwood. Andrew and Robert were not pushing themselves (especially Robert in the 400m, 90.00sec) but had completed all events without injury. The Masters Decathlon was being held concurrently with the Victorian Open and Junior Decathlon and Heptathlon and the Victorian Open Championships. The Heptathlon was run separately to the Decathlon so I have not discussed it here, but results are attached. 16 Robert Hanbury Brown M55 Peter Murray M50

17 On Day 2 we checked in at 9:20 for our 10:20 start with a cool morning with light showers. To use the words of the ground commentator, there was carnage in the hurdles. In the hurdles, I led to the 2 nd hurdle at which point Peter Murray, while attempting to do 3 strides between hurdles, didn t quite make it and tried to stand on top of the hurdle (see photo). I then lost my rhythm and dropped back to 4 or 5 strides from 3 between hurdles while Terry Baldwin moved ahead with his 3 strides. Peter recovered and was gaining on me when at the 8 th hurdle I fell, ending up sprawled out on the track. I managed to get up and clear the last 2 hurdles and still scored points with a time of My only injury was a badly grazed arm with blue staining from the track. This was the end of my hopes of a PB. Robert had a clean race, barely grazing each hurdle as he gracefully glided over at pace with a wonderful view of all the fun in the lanes to his left. In the discus Peter had a disastrous discus with a best of 22.73m well below his usual 30m+ so this was the end of his record attempt. The next event was the Pole Vault. Peter was Tim McGrath nervous coming off a noheight the previous week M50 at the state championships but he cleared 2.50m (with much coaching from the NSW team) and I cleared an equal PB of 3.40m. Robert and Andrew followed their safe approach and cleared heights well below their best. Darrin Norwood unfortunately no-heighted in the pole vault. The last 2 events were the Javelin and 1500m, with Andrew throwing his best distance for 3 years. At about 5.30pm we were finally finished after 2 gruelling days of competition. Unfortunately many of the interstate athletes had to leave to catch planes before the medal ceremony at 6pm. Subsequently planes were delayed or cancelled due to storms in Sydney so they could have stayed for the medal ceremony. At the end of the competition there was a very impressive Australian M45 Record to Justin Hanrahan of 7216, easily breaking the John Gordon s 1993 record of 6446 points. Terry Baldwin and Geoff Gibbons both went very close to Australian records. At times, especially before the 400m and 1500m, thoughts of why are we putting ourselves through this? go through my head, but afterwards it is not nearly as painful. After a couple days I start planning my next decathlon. The decathlon is unique in that the decathletes spend 2 days together enjoying the camaraderie of each other. I recommend the decathlon to every athlete and something that should be on your bucket list. There is a Masters Decathlon in June in Brisbane being organised by Viddy Jermanicans.There is also an ACT Masters Decathlon, run by Athletics ACT, held at the very fast Canberra track each year. Last year it was in late October. To get a feel for Multis an outdoor Pentathlon is a good way to start. Two of the athletes, Greg Simpson and Viddy Jermanicans, have had hip replacements so there are no excuses for not giving a decathlon a go. Andrew Kolrush Points Place 100m LJ SP HJ 400m 110 h DT PV JT 1500m Andrew :47.06 Peter :38.40 Tim :33.79 Robert : DNF 17

18 NSW State Championships 2015 Athletics on a tartan track is one of the few sports that remains unaffected by the weather. And it was sorely tried at the NSW State Championships this year, where athletes were alternatively baked or drowned most of Saturday. Sunday was granted some relief from the rain, but the weather was nevertheless variable. To be comfortable, athletes had to pack the equivalent of a weekend s camping trip, including umbrella, block out, towel, cap, hot drinks, healthy food, comfort food, and an eski. 43 clubs were represented, including an athlete each from Victoria and the ACT. Some of our country athletes travelled a considerable distance to attend. Congratulations to Rodney Watson, competing from Woolgoolga, north of Coffs Harbour. Rodney won the men s shot put, discus, hammer throw, javelin and weight throw with excellent results of 10.77m, 30.23m, 33.26m, 34.93m, and 9.71m respectively. Congratulations also to Mark Conyers from Kooringal, a suburb of Wagga, who won the men s m in 2:33.95, and came fourth in the 1500m (5:29.17) and 5000m (20:48.19). Jay Stone from Armidale won the men s 200m and 400m in the very fast times of 22.95s and 51.18s. I would like to write a most improved athlete article, but it s not easy from a casual glance at the results. May I invite anyone who would like to nominate an athlete they feel fits into this category to me at editor@nswmstersathletics.org.au. We could then run an article on them and get to know athletes who are not usually in the limelight but have an encouraging story to share. Please send a photo, if possible. Athletes who specialize in throws. Melissa Holahan from Wallsend won the five throws in the W30 age group. Audrey Thompson and Kelly Hunter shared the W35, winning weight and hammer throws, and shot put, discus and javelin respectively. Samantha Latanis in W40 won every throw except Javelin, as did Gabriele Watts in the W45. Thrower Glenys Whitehead won hammer, javelin and weight throw in the W50. In the W55, Jill Taylor won hammer and weight throws. Judy Brown and Mary Thomas threw all five throws well, though without other competition, in the W65 and W70 age groups; and may I pause at this point to pose a question? Flipping through the results, I have noticed that javelin seems the odd one out. Otherwise excellent throwers will throw javelin less well, complain that it has ruined their elbow, or avoid it altogether. Is there something about the technique that sets it apart from the remaining four throws? Someone enlighten me, please. This does not apply to either Jamie Muscat or Rodney Watson, however, who won all the M35 and M40 throws, including javelin, but it is an accurate description of Stuart Gyngell, M50, and Gavin Murray, M60, who did not compete in the javelin but won everything else. In the M75, Ron Simcock won every throw except the discus, in which he came second to Brett Sowerby, and Roy Bennett won the discus and javelin in the M80. Excitement on the track. For those who considered the State Championships merely a trial run for Nationals, there were a few very exciting performances on the track to prove them wrong. I was fortunate to be in the right spot at the right time to see Ranell Hobson run a stunning 7.97s in the W40 60m. Another exciting finish I was privileged to catch was Sue Gore overtake Jane Boyd just short of the tape in the W50 800m at 2:36.03 to 2: Thanks to Ron Bendall, writing for ANSW, for pointing out another close fight between Kristszta Kovacs and Nicky Kelly in the W40 400m. Kristszta beat Nicky by only one hundredth of a second in a race most of us find daunting. Ron s full report can be found at Several men set new records that weekend and, aside from Gavin Murray in the M60 weight throw, they were all on the track. John Lamb broke his own long hurdles record by four hundredths of a second to 47.96s. Congratulations to Don Mathewson M70, who broke an incredible seven records this season, but only two at the State Champs, 5000m (18:59.71) and 800m (2:32.45). And finally John Warren ran a very smart 1500m in 6:13.98 to take out the M75 record. Editor 18

19 EJ Davie seen here in the M40, 60m, one of his 14 events. Samantha Latanis John West Wendy Hord Glenys Whitehead Photos Amalia Walker Non-Track and Field Championships Vicki Townsend AMA is pleased to announce that for the triennium the Championships have been awarded as follows: 1. Winter Throws NSW Athletics (to be held in Wollongong). 2. Marathon Gold Coast Events in conjunction with the Gold Coast Marathon. 3. Half Marathon TMA in conjunction with the Hobart Cadbury Marathon 4. Multi-Events Athletics Bendigo (Victoria) 5. 20KM Walk SAMA (Adelaide) 19

20 NEW RECORDS MEN Christopher Clegg M30 pole Vault 31/01/ m 4.00m Michael Dunne M30 60m 3/04/ sec 7.23 Ashley McMahon, Christopher Brack, Darryn James, Luke Demasi M35 4x400m Relay 6/04/2015 3: :53.68 Jamie Muscat M35 Pentathlon Weight 7/02/ points 3334 points Jamie Muscat M35 Weight 100lb 8/02/ m 4.16m Alan Provenzano, Andrew Cassin, George Papalexion, Mick Daly M40 4x100m Relay 5/04/ sec 48.05sec Jason McIntosh M45 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :08 31:06 Bradley Sharpe, Darren Hughes, Peter Murray, Trevor Young M50 4x400m Relay 6/04/2015 3: :56.9 Bradley Sharpe, Robert Combe, Ronald Cozijnsen, Todd Devery M50 4x800m Relay 19/03/2015 9: :54.30 Manu Sivaraj M50 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :10 32:18 Barry Mayo, Greg Beirne, Ian Rose, Peter Byrne M55 4x800m Relay 19/03/ : :42.42 Robert Osborne M m Walk 3/04/2015 8: :30.20 Alan Carey, John Lamb, Neville McIntyre, Victor Ramondetta M60 4x400m Relay 6/04/2015 4: :23.66 Gavin Murray M60 Hammer (Pent) 5/04/ m 43.44m Gavin Murray M60 Pentathlon Weight 7/02/ points 2885 points Gavin Murray M60 Weight 21/02/ m 16.44m Gavin Murray M60 Weight 56lb 3/08/ m 6.05m John Lamb M65 100m Hurdles 1/11/ sec 19.01sec John Lamb M65 300m Hurdles 13/11/ sec 50.29sec John Lamb M65 300m Hurdles 21/02/ sec 48.80sec Robert Connors M m Walk 3/04/ : :19.20 Albert Gay M70 Pole Vault 5/04/ m 2.90m Donald Mathewson M m 16/12/2014 5: :18.17 Donald Mathewson M m 10/01/2015 5: :07.02 Donald Mathewson M m 8/11/ : :04.78 Donald Mathewson M m 11/01/ : :17.71 Donald Mathewson M m 21/02/ : :20.19 Donald Mathewson M70 800m 21/02/2015 2: :33.23 Donald Mathewson M70 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :16 37:43 Peter Crombie M70 100m 10/01/ sec 14.00sec John Spinney M m 8/11/ : :40.40 John Spinney M75 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :30 49:39 John Warren M m 22/02/2015 6: :24.63 Thomas Seymon M75 10km Walk Road 6/04/ :57 78:50 Thomas Seymon M m Walk 3/04/2015 9:15.62 new record NEW RECORDS WOMEN.. Belinda Westcott W m Walk 3/04/ :12.86 new record Emily McKenzie W30 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :42 equal record Audrey Muscat W35 Pentathlon Weight 7/02/ points 3077 points Audrey Thomson W35 Pentathlon Weight 6/10/ points 3005 points Kelly Hunter W35 Discus 7/03/ m 37.13m Nicole Robinson W35 60m 22/02/ sec (eq) 7.98sec Alice Bohdan W40 Pentathlon Field 6/04/ points 3091 points Belinda Martin W m 5/04/ : :51 Belinda Martin W40 10km Road 3/05/ :50 38:51.00 Belinda Martin W40 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :56 33:52 Belinda Martin W40 Half Marathon 18/05/2014 1h16:39 20

21 Samantha Latanis W40 Pentathlon Weight 7/02/ points 3481 points Cristine Suffolk W45 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :33 35:19 Gabriele Watts W45 Hammer (Pent) 5/04/ m 38.75m Gabriele Watts W45 Pentathlon Throws 5/04/ points 3556 points Gabrielle Watts W45 Pentathlon Weight 7/02/ points 3189 points Janelle Delaney W45 400m 5/04/ sec 59.18sec Lenore Lambert W45 Pentathlon Field 11/01/ points 2295 points Glenys Whitehead W50 Pentathlon Throws 7/03/ points 2810 points Glenys Whitehead W50 Pentathlon Throws 5/04/ points 3218 points Julie Forster, Lynda Douglass, Sally Stagles, Vicki Townsend W50 4x100m Relay 5/04/ sec 59.35sec Sally Stagles W50 300m Hurdles 5/04/ sec 57.55sec Caroline Yarnell W m Steeple 4/04/2015 8: :03.34 Christine Shaw W55 60m 22/02/ sec 9.37sec Christine Shaw W55 High Jump 21/02/ m 1.20m Christine Shaw W55 Long Jump 22/02/ m 3.98m Christine Shaw W55 Long Jump (Pent) 6/04/ m 4.22m Christine Shaw W55 Pentathlon Field 6/04/ points 2456 points Robyn Basman W55 Half Marathon 21/09/2014 1h26:47 1h31:51 Robyn Suttor W55 80m Hurdles 4/04/ sec 14.90sec June Lowe W60 60m 3/11/ sec 9.81sec June Lowe W60 High Jump 22/02/ m 1.05m June Lowe W60 Javelin 22/02/ m new record June Lowe W60 Long Jump 2/11/ m 3.34m Rosemary Roediger W m 22/02/2015 5: :47.09 Rosemary Roediger W m 21/02/ : :14.40 Rosemary Roediger W60 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :54 41:42 Judith Rigg W65 60m 22/02/ sec new record Judith Rigg W65 60m 3/04/ sec Paula Moorhouse W m 22/02/2015 6: :31.03 Paula Moorhouse W65 200m 21/02/ sec 34.87sec Paula Moorhouse W65 400m 22/02/2015 1: :17.45 Paula Moorhouse W65 400m 5/04/2015 1: :17.29 Paula Moorhouse W65 800m 21/02/2015 3: :05.00 Dorothy Siepmann W m 5/04/2015 1:05: :12.09 Dorothy Siepmann W70 8km Cross Country 6/04/ :22 new record Mary Thomas W70 Discus 7/03/ m 23.28m Mary Thomas W70 Discus 1kg 4/10/ m 22.16m Mary Thomas W70 Hammer 6/09/ m 26.66m Mary Thomas W70 Hammer 22/02/ m 27.87m Mary Thomas W70 Hammer (Pent) 5/04/ m 27.95m Mary Thomas W70 Pentathlon Weight 6/10/ points 3680 points Mary Thomas W70 Shot Put 3kg 4/10/ m 7.92m Mary Thomas W70 Shot Put 3kg 17/01/ m 8.30m Mary Thomas W70 Weight 22/02/ m 10.98m Mary Thomas W70 Weight 100lb 6/10/ m New Record Mary Thomas W70 Weight 100lb 8/02/ m 1.02m Mary Thomas W70 Weight 12lb 4/10/ m 10.62m Mary Thomas W70 Weight 56lb 6/10/ m 2.19m 21

22 Articles of Interest, provided by kind permission of Jill Taylor, National Coaching Development Manager Athletics Australia The articles come from the Australia Sports Commission. Below is the link for those Masters athletes who may be interested in registering to become a member of the Clearing House. Physical activity does not mitigate damaging health effects from continual sitting. Suffering chronic condition exercise can help. Sally Pearson s private hell in the hunt for Gold. Should older runners embrace the barefoot craze? Nature or Nurture? New magazine about sport and sports politics Running injuries point to differences and similarities between genders Considerations for Decreasing Injury Risk during Physical Training urce=connect&utm_medium= &utm_campaign=awareness Should I exercise or sleep to feel better? Why the best sports stars struggle to retire Ice or heat after injury? 22

23 Opinions, please ANSW officiating in all Masters Championship events. NSWMA runs the Throws Pentathlon (TP) annually. When ANSW took over running Masters Championships in 2001 they also ran our multi-events for a short time. They then abandoned running the TP, citing demands on officials and difficulties fitting it into their program. Since then the event has mostly been run with few or no dedicated officials, with competing athletes having to act as officials. Another area where masters have been consistently short-changed is the field events in the State Relays. Typically we have been able to get only one throw scheduled whilst other, much smaller constituents such as under 14, have had several throws. This is an historic distortion dating back to when there were no specific masters events. Given the number of masters registrations I think we should be pushing for an equal complement of throws as Open. Athletes with a Disability editor. An athlete with a disability who wishes to compete in ANSW events must first be classified by the Australian Paralympic Committee. I worked in adult rehabilitation from 1988 to 1994 and am also an accredited Special Education teacher, so I am interested in what we would do if an athlete with a disability wanted to compete with us. I am not aware of any Masters athletes who compete under an APC classification, and it may not be practical for us to do that. However, you may ask yourself these questions: if a runner with a visual impairment asked to use a guide in a Masters 5km or cross country event, what would you say? If a thrower with a prosthesis or mobility issue asked to use a stool, as is done at international level, do we say yes? Send your replies to editor@nswmstersathletics.org.au and we will publish them in the next issue. NSWMA AGM Notice is hereby given that the NSWMA Annual General Meeting will be held at 2pm on Sunday 14 June 2015 at Bankstown Sports Club, 8 Greenfield Parade, Bankstown. The meeting will present the annual report, financial report and hold the election for the new committee. All committee positions will be declared vacant and nominations are now invited in writing or via to: The Secretary, 8 Edinburgh Crs, St Andrews NSW 2566 or secretary@nswmastersathletics.org.au. Nominations for positions need to be received by the Secretary 14 days prior to the meeting. Should there be no nominations in writing for a position, nominations will be called for from the floor at the meeting. Members wishing to schedule a matter for discussion or propose any motions are encouraged to send these to the Secretary for inclusion in the agenda. Athletics NSW Annual Awards Dinner On behalf of the Athletics NSW President Sean Scanlon we would like to invite you and members of your club to attend the Annual Athletics NSW Awards Dinner with guest MC's Mossy & Robbo on Saturday 13 June at Sydney Olympic Pk. When: Saturday, 13 th June Where; Novotel, Sydney Olympic Park. Freshwater Ballroom. Time: 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Dress: Smart Casual. How to book tickets: from the home page of ANSW For more information: please contact Rachel Mullane on info@nswathletics.org.au or

24 Lenore Lambert ahead of Gaelyne Kenshole, Vic, W40-49, 80m hurdles Christine Robyn Maria Cimino Danielle Camenzuli Jackie Bezuidenhout Miet Dlugolecki M45 60m Alice Bohdan Photography Amalia Walker, Chris Boylen, Andrew Atkinson Howatt, Julie Forster, Athletics Vic. Paula Moorhouse Judy Brown ipad images Margaret Walker Jamie Muscat Lynda Douglass Geoff Crumpton David Thebridge 24